tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post2089949256047095011..comments2017-05-27T17:15:37.353-04:00Comments on The Baldest Truth: Hall Call: Maddux (duh!), but not Jacque Jones (double-duh!)Mike Nadelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-78700611989738952402014-01-02T22:32:30.059-05:002014-01-02T22:32:30.059-05:00Tadpoles:
I think Smith was hurt by the fact that...Tadpoles:<br /><br />I think Smith was hurt by the fact that he bounced around, that he never played for a pennant-winner, that the two times he was in the postseason he got lit up pretty good and, mostly, that despite the save total he wasn&#39;t viewed as dominant as Fingers, Sutter and Gossage.<br /><br />Thanks for the nice words.<br /><br />MikeMike Nadelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-7528542547276041502013-12-31T19:41:45.287-05:002013-12-31T19:41:45.287-05:00I enjoyed reading your article, Mr Nadel. All too ...I enjoyed reading your article, Mr Nadel. All too often I think of the BBWAA voters as old and stodgy and out of touch with society. Glad to see that it&#39;s not true in your case.<br />There&#39;s one player that I think is getting left out - Lee Smith. It seems that the only relievers that have a chance at the HOF nowadays are those that get a lot of one-inning saves. Prior to Hoffman breaking his record, Smith had the most career saves, in spite of the fact that he was asked to pitch two and sometimes three innings at a time.<br />There are some positions in baseball (RP and DH) that are part-time, so maybe not considered not as deserving of the full-time positions for HOF considerations. But, I have to believe that the No.3 RP in saves is special enough to be included. He&#39;s running out of time.<br />Does it hurt him that he played for eight different teams in eighteen years?Tadpoles_uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-68885789110005361532013-12-24T22:35:58.256-05:002013-12-24T22:35:58.256-05:00Bill: You are welcome.
Anonymous: This debate has...Bill: You are welcome.<br /><br />Anonymous: This debate has been fun and all, but I&#39;ve said my piece and you&#39;ve said yours. I suggest you become a sportswriter, keep that standing as a professional baseball writer for more than a decade, become a Hall of Fame voter and choose whomever you&#39;d like. Merry Christmas.Mike Nadelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-40468219569781023412013-12-24T14:22:29.874-05:002013-12-24T14:22:29.874-05:00Jack Morris&#39;s ERA from 1981-90 was 3.70. That&...Jack Morris&#39;s ERA from 1981-90 was 3.70. That&#39;s tied for FORTY-SIXTH among pitchers in that decade.<br /><br />American League teams averaged 4.67 runs per game in 1979. 1987 was the ONLY year of the 1980s that they exceed that that number.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-77655108123156257382013-12-24T14:22:27.611-05:002013-12-24T14:22:27.611-05:00Sure, one can claim players juiced in the 80&#39;s...Sure, one can claim players juiced in the 80&#39;s. Heck, a player or two probably juiced decades earlier. However, when one takes the time to look for an affect you have to acknowledge that even if a few were juicing in the 80&#39;s it did not impact scoring and that is the rub for Morris. He had a pretty high ERA and it was mostly for a fairly low scoring period. Adjusting for time frame, Morris 3.90 ERA is not much different from Jamie Moyer&#39;s 4.25.<br /><br />Appreciate you taking time to explain your ballot. Even more so appreciate your voting for a full slate of ten players. I could name eight others who should take Morris&#39; place, but at least you used all your slots and nine out of the ten are clearly in line with Hall of Fame standards.<br />Merry Christmas,<br />BillLargeBillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231452147187641675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-16073382873338720822013-12-24T13:13:20.467-05:002013-12-24T13:13:20.467-05:00Absolutely, guys juiced in the &#39;80s, especiall...Absolutely, guys juiced in the &#39;80s, especially the second half of the decade. And the ball was totally juiced in that same period. Look up some of the HR totals in 1987, for instance. Wade Boggs had 24 that year, for cripe&#39;s sake!<br /><br />I will admit that Morris&#39; performance in Game 7 in &#39;91 probably tips it for me. I was there covering the greatest game in the greatest World Series ever. Yes, he also had some clunkers. But I also talked to several managers in the early &#39;90s and repeatedly was told that if they could choose one pitcher to start one game, it would be Morris. The game already was becoming specialized, and Morris was an absolute workhorse bulldog. Even when he didn&#39;t have his best stuff, he wanted to stay in the game.<br /><br />Yes, some of that is subjective. That&#39;s why we have humans voting instead of just statistical analyses. If each of these anonymous gentlemen (or ladies) have other opinions, that is great. This is part of what makes sports fun.<br /><br />Thanks for reading.<br /><br />MikeMike Nadelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-46314773878988470742013-12-24T12:57:49.243-05:002013-12-24T12:57:49.243-05:00On Morris: &quot;... his postseason performances (...On Morris: &quot;... his postseason performances (especially for the 1991 Twins)...&quot;<br /><br />What other postseason performances? Take out that memorable Game 7, and his career postseason ERA is 4.26. In the World Series the *very next year*, he gave up 10 earned runs in 10 2/3 innings pitched in two starts. If you&#39;re going to put the guy in the Hall of Fame based on just one start, at least be honest enough to say so. But if you&#39;re going to be intellectually consistent, you have to weigh the stinkers along with the gems, and Morris had plenty of both.<br /><br />And echoing what the last commenter said: Morris retired after 1994. The height of the Steroid Era didn&#39;t come until 1998 and beyond. You&#39;re giving Morris credit for something that didn&#39;t exist. When he had a 3.94 ERA in 1988, it wasn&#39;t an inflated offensive era that boosted his ERA -- Jose Canseco or no. That 3.94 ERA ranked 26th in the American League that year. The league average ERA was 3.98. Dave Stieb, who actually probably should be considered the best pitcher of the 1980s, had a 3.04 ERA, and he still finished only seventh. Morris wasn&#39;t a victim of his era. He was an average pitcher.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-70428895247507548042013-12-24T12:40:48.183-05:002013-12-24T12:40:48.183-05:00Morris pitched primarily in the 80s. By the time h...Morris pitched primarily in the 80s. By the time home runs were really taking off in 1994-1995 due to muscle bound sluggers, Morris was pretty much done. Are you saying you think guys were juiced in the 80s? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-47200729507282078012013-12-24T11:49:20.328-05:002013-12-24T11:49:20.328-05:00Thanks, Troy.
Smoltz will get my vote and I thin...Thanks, Troy. <br /><br />Smoltz will get my vote and I think he has a real good chance to get in. There are quite a few voters who don&#39;t give &quot;first-ballot&quot; status to any but the all-time superstars and they might not vote for Smoltz. Otherwise, who wouldn&#39;t?<br /><br />I know of no unwritten rule pertaining to the 5% vote situation. I just saw last year that Kenny Lofton (whom I did not vote for) fell off the ballot after one year and I felt bad about that because, while I don&#39;t think he&#39;s an HoFer, I could see others making an argument down the line. So, personally, I didn&#39;t want that to happen to Mussina.<br /><br />MikeMike Nadelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02109967340262145570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5247037499744036971.post-31349695231773273952013-12-24T11:32:36.331-05:002013-12-24T11:32:36.331-05:00TBT always with the info!
I stopped following ba...TBT always with the info! <br /><br />I stopped following baseball closely once i went off to college/started to lose faith in honest play, but I love this article because it speaks on my favorite players growing up.<br /><br />Aside from your other insightful picks I truly support Craig Biggio, Tom Glavine and Mike Mussina! MM seemed to be able to last so long in the league and throw a great variety of ways to stay competitive in addition to his quietly legitimate stats.<br /><br />Love the Tom Glavine choice, do you think that that John Smoltz will have a hard time given the power in his class? would be great to see the Trinity go in consecutive years...<br /><br />had no idea about the 5% rule. Is there an actual unsaid rule that you &quot;don&#39;t waste a players chances this year&quot; because of it? <br /><br />TBT always with the insight to keep a dwindling jaded sports fan like me interested!<br /><br />tbTroyBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02909139747520729264noreply@blogger.com